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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24224779">steal of two</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Recurring/pseuds/Recurring'>Recurring</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem Three Houses of Curling [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Curling, Gen, I don't know how I wrote this so fast, Sports, extra niche fic just for me, if curling is chess on ice and fire emblem is anime chess..., nothing but jargon and i make no attempt to translate</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 18:01:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,510</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24224779</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Recurring/pseuds/Recurring</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Curling is a game of strategy. Claude is the master Tactician. There are enough boys in the Golden Deer and the Black Eagles for each to have a full curling team. This fic was inevitable.</p><p>It's the final end of the gold-medal game of the Jeralt Eisner's Brier, and Team Riegan trails Team Vestra by one. They are down to one stone each. Claude is currently sitting shot rock, but does not have the hammer.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem Three Houses of Curling [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1755364</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>steal of two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Everyone's their timeskip age, just for visuals, since I offer none in the text. Yes, I am replacing Tim Horton's with Jeralt Eisner's.</p><p>Everyone's position on their team is as follows:</p><p>Claude - skip<br/>Lorenz - vice<br/>Raphael - second<br/>Ignatz - lead<br/>Byleth - coach</p><p>Hubert - skip<br/>Ferdinand - vice<br/>Caspar - second<br/>Linhardt - lead<br/>Jeritza - coach</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It is the final end of the final match of the <em>Jeralt Eisner's</em> Brier.Team Riegan is trailing Team Vestra by one point.They need to steal two for the win, or one for the tie, to force Vestra to an extra end.</p><p>Claude knows that is how you lose.Vestra has never lost with the hammer going into an extra end.He's a cunning skip, probably one of the smartest in the world, and he knows how to take advantage of any minor mistake his opponent makes.</p><p>Claude is also smart, though, even if he is new to the ranks of world-class curling.He took advantage of a high guard by the opposing lead and managed to build a delightful little wall of granite in front of the house, in the centre of which, right on the pin, is Ignatz' second stone.It had been protected by Claude's foresight in choosing the yellow stones--red was imbalanced, and Vestra had selected one that just curled a little too much.That, combined with the number of people packed into the stadium who were heating up the air and making the ice much more swingy than they'd been accustomed to, had meant Caspar's throw had curled five feet by the time it reached the T-line, missing Ignatz' stone completely. </p><p>This had given Claude the opportunity to guard the Hell out of it.Caspar wasn't much good at draws, so he had come up short, offering yet another guard to the blockade Claude was forming.</p><p>Now, down to the final two rocks--Claude's and Hubert's--there were important decisions to make.</p><p>"You need to stop him from doing the runback," Lorenz says in Claude's ear.</p><p>"You think he can make it?"</p><p>Lorenz glances at Hubert, who is clearly discussing the same thing with his own vice, Ferdinand."We can't <em>gamble</em> at this stage.This is the Brier!If we lose because you've underestimated <em>Hubert Vestra</em>, the Fodlan champion--"</p><p>"I'm not underestimating him," Claude says."I'm just estimating."</p><p>The tv cameras focus in on the two of them.Claude had gotten over them after their first game here, and now keeps his face cheerful and unworried at all times.Usually it was just when he was talking to any of his teammates.One of the most important aspects of the game is morale.</p><p>"If you put a stone anywhere in this line--" Lorenz gestures with his broom "--he can't get any of his reds in.We're guaranteed the steal."</p><p>"For one," Claude finishes."Do you <em>want</em> an extra end?"</p><p>"Of course I don't, but there's no other option!"</p><p>"Not even," Claude says, grinning wickedly, "the double run on the centre-guard, to Raph's biter, to outcount the red on the twelve-foot?"</p><p>"You are insane," Lorenz says.</p><p>"I don't need a ton of weight."Claude ignores his vice's panic and starts checking the angles.He sees Ignatz and Raphael have set his rock in the hack for him, and are on their way to see what the situation is like.</p><p>"The shot you're proposing is at least four times as difficult as the one you think Vestra can't make," Lorenz protests.</p><p>"You're thinking about the double run?" Ignatz says as he gets close enough.</p><p>Lorenz lets out a desperate growl."We are most certainly not!"</p><p>"Where do you think we'd need to hit the centre guard to bump Raph's biter in?"Claude is pretty good when it comes to figuring out the best angles for the call, but Ignatz is even better at it, and not too shabby when it comes to reading the ice, either.If not for his lack of confidence, Ignatz would make an incredible skip.</p><p>That was the world's loss, and Claude's gain.He has one of the best front ends a skip could ask for, Ignatz with his near-perfect draw accuracy and surprising control over high-weight shots, and Raphael's talent for hits and even tick shots.Of course, Raphael is no slouch when it comes to sweeping, and had saved them numerous times from missing completely when the swingy ice seemed intent on <em>pulling</em> their rocks to the edges of the sheet.</p><p>Lorenz is a terrific vice, as well, but Claude won't admit that to him.They work better with a bit of a rivalry, Claude finds.When Lorenz relaxes, he sometimes forgets to put enough rotation on his throws.When he is bitterly trying to prove that he should be the one leading the team, however, his form is perfect.His advice when it comes to strategy is usually sound, too, but he isn't as willing to take the risks you need to get the big ends.</p><p>"You'd have to hit it right here," Ignatz suggests, crouching and pushing the pad of his broom against the guard, just off-centre.</p><p>"That's what I thought," Claude agrees."I'm thinking, maybe hack is all we need."</p><p>"It's gotten sticky," Ignatz says.</p><p>Lorenz clears his throat."Shall we call a time-out?"He glances to the clock.They are running short on time, so Claude nods.Lorenz turns to the officials and makes the sign for a time-out.Their coach gets up, stretching, and makes their way to the ice.</p><p>"You don't think board would be too much?" Claude says, turning his attention back to Ignatz and the matter at hand.</p><p>"Maybe," Ignatz says.</p><p>Raphael tilts his head."Yeah, you don't have to move it very far, do ya?It's just got a few centimetres to go, eh?"</p><p>"True," Ignatz says.</p><p>Claude backs away to examine the distance.He can see, when he moves, the way the light hits the ice.It shows the paths made by the rocks and by the furious sweeping meant to control their courses.</p><p>Byleth has arrived."Doing the double runback?"</p><p>"I'd like to," Claude says."Somewhere between hack and board weight?"</p><p>Byleth nods."It doesn't have to move far."</p><p>Lorenz rolls his eyes."Surely it would be wiser to stop Vestra from using the corner red to remove our shot rock?"</p><p>"That is an option," Byleth says."But we don't want the extra end."</p><p>"That's what I said.We'd like to steal two, and we can," Claude says.</p><p>"But you'd still be counting on Hubert missing his shot," Byleth counters.</p><p>"Aha!" Lorenz grins.</p><p>"He missed the last run he tried," Claude reasons.</p><p>"In the fifth," Byleth agrees."The ice has changed a lot since then.Even Ferdinand missed it."</p><p>"So Vestra knows where to adjust," Lorenz hisses.</p><p>"Ferdinand's picked," Ignatz says."It shouldn't have spun out like that."</p><p>"Probably <em>one</em> of your hairs," Claude says to Lorenz, snickering.</p><p>Lorenz scoffs, but his hand goes to his purple hair anyway."Time is running short.Byleth, tell him to put up a guard."</p><p>"You're all tired," Byleth says."Linhardt will just hog his shots, Caspar can knock out anything you manage to put in, and Ferdinand will clean up anything else.Hubert never misses a draw."</p><p>"Hmm," Lorenz says.</p><p>Claude winks at his coach."That's what I tried to tell him!So you think we should go with the run?"</p><p>"Yes, but give it extra ice, they really finish," Byleth adds."About a foot and a half."</p><p>"Sounds right," Claude agrees.</p><p>"Get the gold," Byleth says, and returns to their seat to watch.</p><p>Claude holds his broom to mark where he needs to aim.Lorenz releases an exasperated sigh and puts his own broom in that place.He crouches down, looking from the guard to the stone they're trying to nudge deeper into the house. </p><p>"Closer to board than hack," Lorenz says."Everyone's been coming up short."</p><p>"If you say so!"Claude winks and joins his front end in getting to the other end of the sheet.He crouches in the hack, wiping the bottom of his final stone with his gloved hand.He stares down the lane at Lorenz's broom.There is no room for nerves, this is just any other shot.He's practiced it many times and gotten it right.</p><p>"Raph, you take the inside," Claude says.His sweepers switch sides.If they need to keep it from over-curling, Raphael has way more power than Ignatz.</p><p>Claude gets into position in the hack.He knows time is counting down, but that he still has enough.The crowd is silent as he grips the yellow handle of his stone, angling it to two-o'clock.It resists, already beginning to freeze in place.Claude nudges it back and forth a little, making sure there's no frost on the bottom. </p><p>Pulling back, Claude fixes the power he needs in his mind, and angles his body towards the small, yellow spot that is Lorenz' broomhead.</p><p>He kicks into his slide, body slung low.The stone rumbles on the ice's remaining pebbles, but he doesn't feel it catch on anything.Raphael and Ignatz both kick into a run, but Claude barely pays attention to them, nor to the crowd holding its collective breath.He lets go of the stone just before the hog line, and follows through with his slide, not getting up until he is completely out of momentum.</p><p>The stone doesn't move much at first, just seems like it's going to hang out in the wings forever.</p><p>"Just under board," Ignatz calls. </p><p>"Clean," Claude advises.The front end gently lower their brooms, to brush any debris out of the stone's path.</p><p>At the other end, Lorenz shouts "Whoa!"</p><p>"Just cleaning!" Raphael yells back. </p><p>"Whoa!" Lorenz shouts.He moves his broom from where it marks how much ice Claude wanted, to the spot on the guard where they need to hit.</p><p>Claude's stone seems to think about what it wants to do.Claude crouches in the middle of the sheet, tracking its progress.Slowly it begins to come around.</p><p>"Raphael!" Claude shouts."Hard!<em>Sweep</em>!"</p><p>"<em>Hard!All the way!Hard</em>!" Lorenz screams.</p><p>As soon as the rock passes over the other hog, it bends around.Raphael jumps on it, putting all his weight on his broom to sweep and keep it straight.The rock is determined to move though, curving steadily, steadily, across the face of the guard Claude is trying to hit.</p><p>"Whoa!" Lorenz shouts."Off!Off!"He moves his broom away and leaps back, ready to call from the house.How he keeps from tripping his long legs on the stones behind him is always a mystery to Claude, but he admires his vice for that.</p><p>Claude's stone curls just a little further, hitting the guard right where Ignatz had suggested.The <em>bang</em> resounds through the arena, and is followed by a second when the guard hits Raphael's biter. </p><p>"Ignatz!Get that!" Lorenz shouts, but there's no need.Ignatz is ready to sweep their yellow, dragging it as far as he can into the house.</p><p>It ends up nestled against their shot rock.Lorenz raises his broom to let Claude know he made the shot.</p><p>"Nice one!" Raphael yells, but even he can barely be heard over the cheering.</p><p>Claude slides down to his team, where Raphael claps him on the back and Ignatz smiles brightly.</p><p>"Great sweeping, you guys," Claude says."Perfect timing, Raph."</p><p>"Nice throw!"Raphael is beaming.</p><p>"Weight was perfect," Ignatz says.</p><p>Claude joins Lorenz behind the house.</p><p>"Lucky shot," Lorenz says, while Claude finds his gripper and stretches it over the bottom of his sliding foot.</p><p>"You're jealous," Claude teases.</p><p>Lorenz rolls his eyes."He could still get both of them out."</p><p>"He won't," Claude says.</p><p>In front of them, Hubert is directing Ferdinand on where he wants the broom. </p><p>"You will need to throw normal, Hubert," Ferdinand is saying."If you give this much ice it will just fall out."</p><p>"I understand the physics," Hubert answers, and he must be frustrated or Claude wouldn't have been able to hear him."With the way it's been curling, the ice you're suggesting would be suitable for peel weight.It will come around."</p><p>"I do not like this," Ferdinand mutters.</p><p>"Just call the line," Hubert says.His front end has stayed away.Hubert is notorious for not involving them in final decisions, although his lead, Linhardt, has sometimes made suggestions he approves of.Clearly there is no other shot to be made than the one Hubert is attempting, though, so Linhardt has not made the effort of walking down to offer his opinion.Team Vestra has used both of their time-outs, so there isn't even an opportunity to get their coach's opinion.</p><p>"A good sign?" Lorenz breathes, leaning closer to Claude."What ice would you have given?"</p><p>Claude shakes his head."They always bicker.That's the ice I'd have gone with, if he's really going to throw normal.But with how frosty it is out there he might need peel just to move them far enough."</p><p>"Hm," Lorenz says, and Claude knows it's a sound of agreement.</p><p>At the other end, Hubert is explaining to his teammates what the plan is while he cleans his rock.He flicks his hair out of his eyes and gets into the hack properly.The crowd has gone silent again.Claude tenses, waiting.</p><p>Hubert points to his left, and Ferdinand shakes his head.</p><p>"Interesting," Lorenz says.Claude just watches.</p><p>"More ice!" Hubert yells.</p><p>"Bad idea!" Ferdinand replies."More weight!"</p><p>Hubert looks, even from this distance, like he wants to strangle Ferdinand.He repeats the gesture for Ferdinand to move his broom out, and the redhead does so.</p><p>Ferdinand glances over his shoulder at Claude and Lorenz."I think I'll be congratulating you soon," he says.</p><p>Claude laughs."Don't you trust your skip?"</p><p>"You've out-thought him, I think," Ferdinand says, and turns his attention back to Hubert's throw.</p><p>It does, indeed, fall out, but Claude can see that it's not quite normal weight, but a tad slower.Ferdinand calls his sweepers on in advance of it beginning to curl, just before the hog line.Even with Caspar powering through, sweeping faster than Claude's ever seen, the rock looks like it might overshoot its target.</p><p>It doesn't, just hits the red dead on, sending it forward just enough to bite the eight-foot ring.It's nowhere near the two rocks on the button.</p><p>Ferdinand straightens, and turns around to face Claude and Lorenz fully.The crowd erupts into applause.</p><p>"Two yellow," Ferdinand declares."Good game!Congratulations!"He shakes hands with both of them, just before Raphael and Ignatz rush over to celebrate.Raphael grabs Claude around the middle and lifts him up with a roar, while Ignatz just pumps his broom in the air, before giving Lorenz a high five.</p><p>The rest of Team Vestra make their way to shake hands and congratulate them.</p><p>"Well done," Hubert says."I should have paid closer attention to you during the tournament."</p><p>Somehow, everything he says came out like a threat.Claude grins wide."It was a good game.I'll make sure to have some surprises for next time."</p><p>"See that you do," Hubert hisses, before joining his team in gathering up their equipment.</p><p>Claude smiles.He's done it.He's won the Brier, the most prestigious curling competition in Fodlan.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Let's all face it, Dimitri would NEVER curl.</p><p>Sylvain might.</p><p>Anyway I was considering making these guys curlers in my canadian au (EH-U) but there's no way that will fit in there so I'm indulging myself with a curling fic, outside of Hate to Let You Down</p><p>Ask me about my dumb curling headcanons if you dare because trust me. I have some.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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